What does Clinton Anderson say about horses that won't stand still for tacking up?

A horse that won't stand still for tacking up — that walks forward, swings its hindquarters, backs away, or fidgets while being saddled and bridled — is one of the most common and most correctable ground manner problems, and Clinton Anderson's solution addresses both the symptom and the underlying cause. Anderson's diagnosis of a horse that won't stand for tacking up is almost always one of two things: the horse has never been trained to stand still on command, or the horse has pain associated with the tacking process — back soreness, saddle fit issues, or girth sensitivity that makes the approach of the saddle a signal to prepare for discomfort. He rules out pain first, checking saddle fit and palpating the back before assuming the behavior is a training issue. A horse that was previously still for tacking and suddenly begins moving has a reason, and that reason should be found before training correction begins. For the training issue, Anderson uses the same correction he uses for all standing problems: every time the horse moves without being directed to, it is immediately put to work — yielding hindquarters, backing, or trotting in hand — until it stops, stands, and is asked for stillness again. The message is that movement away from the correct position results in directed, effortful movement, and standing still is where rest is. Anderson is specific that the correction must happen immediately — within one second of the unwanted movement — and must be applied every single time. A handler who sometimes corrects and sometimes doesn't trains the horse to test consistently, because sometimes testing is rewarded with the handler giving up and tacking the horse anyway. Consistency — every unwanted movement, every time — is what changes the behavior reliably.